Once In A Flood
by words-are-my-weakness
Summary: A hit and run happens right before Gill's eyes and it isn't only the victim and the bike rider's lives that are changed forever...
1. Chapter 1

Working with 'murdering nutters' all day was a difficult, exhausting task for even the best, most experienced police officers. For DCI Gill Murray, it was even more taxing, having to put on that cold, tough exterior every day, when sometimes all she wanted to do was let rip. Gill was the last one to leave the office, and had decided that a bottle of red wine and dinner with her son in front of the television sounded like the perfect evening. She pulled on her long beige jacket and lifted her handbag onto her right shoulder; car keys in her hand ready.

Her heels on the stairs echoed through the deserted building and on reaching the bottom of the stairs, held her head high and walked past the drunks, the druggies and the shitbags being brought into custody. She reached the big blue doors, and with a lot of effort from her fine-boned body, opened the door and stepped onto the wet street of Oldham. Her hair already looked a mess from a long, gruelling day, so a little bit of rain did not bother her. The young girl walking past Gill did not catch her eye; she just kept her head down and walked on. The quiet night was disrupted by a motorbike, which was clearly over the speed-limit, racing past her. What really caught Gill's attention was the fact the motorbike mounted the pavement and was heading straight for the girl. Gill had no idea whether it was deliberate or if the person on the bike had just lost control for one reason or another. But at this precise moment, there wasn't much she could do. She turned and ran towards where the girl was walking, to try and push her out of the way to save her from being hit; but two steps later the bike was already on its side, the girl lying very still on the wet concrete.

Gill felt as though she had been hit by a truck; her chest was heavy and she felt weary. Despite her own anxious state, she still bent down next to the girl and searched her pocket for her mobile phone. Her blood red nails pushed three buttons, and there was a brief moment of silence before she spoke,

"Ambulance please, Oldham police station, young girl been knocked over by a motorbike" she was blunt, but needed to give the girl her full attention.

"Can you hear me love?" Gill asked, realising the girl was breathing and conscious.

She nodded slightly and whispered "yes"

"I'm Gill, Gill Murray, I'm a police officer, DCI" Gill began. "What's your name?"

"Lily"

"Hi Lilly, how old are you?" Gill asked, just trying to keep the girl awake and talking until the ambulance arrived.

"Nineteen"

"Is there anyone I can call for you?" Gill asked

"No, there's no one"

"What about your parents?" Gill questioned, growing more concerned.

"I said there's no one" Lily replied, a little firmer this time.

"Okay, okay, you just keep nice and calm for me" Gill smiled, trying to reassure Lily, but knowing that if her face showed how she felt inside, there wasn't much hope.

Like a light bulb switching on in her head, Gill looked over to the bike to see if the person was injured. But there was no one there. _'How the hell did he survive that and get away so quickly and so quietly?' _Gill thought to herself. She looked back to Lily. The ambulance still hadn't arrived.

"Gill" the girl whispered frailly.

"Yeah?" Gill answered with a smile, diverting her eyes from Lily to the road and back again.

"I'm scared" she confessed with a stray tear.

"I know, but you're going to be fine, alright?"

"Please don't leave me, please" Lily begged, her crying becoming harder. Gill slipped her fingers around Lily's cold hand and gave it a squeeze.

"Look, I really should be getting home" Gill replied quickly; she wasn't the squishy, caring, motherly type, she wouldn't have been any good at all this, in her own opinion.

"Please, I'm begging you don't go. You're the first person in years to even ask me what my name is, please don't go now"

Gill nodded. "I'm not going anywhere, alright?" she asked rhetorically.

"Thank you"

At that moment the ambulance pulled into the side of the road, metres from where Gill and Lily were.

"DCI Murray" one of the ambulance men greeted; having known each other from other jobs where Gill had to visit hospitals to collect statements, their meeting was more friendly than expected.

"Ah, John, nice to see you, well, it would be under nicer circumstances" Gill tried digging herself out of the whole she was creating, but decided it was easier to shut up before she made it worse.

"What have we got?" he asked.

"This is Lily, nineteen years old, hit by a motorbike doing at least 80 miles per hour; mounted the pavement, she had no chance of moving" Gill informed, just as she would when briefing her team on a case.

"Right, we need a trolley, spinal board and collar" John shouted to his colleague who waited by the ambulance for instructions.

The equipment arrived and Lily was soon on the trolley, being wheeled toward the ambulance.

"Is it alright if I go with her?" Gill asked John.

"Of course it is"

Gill smiled a reassuring smile at Lily, taking hold of her hand once more. "It's all going to be alright, I promise"


	2. Chapter 2

The trolley rushed through the corridors; paramedics walking full speed and Gill almost having to run to keep up; her short legs struggling to match the strides of those around her. Paramedics shouted to doctors and doctors shouted to nurses; all of which Gill had no idea what any of it meant, but it didn't sound good. As Lily was taken into resuscitation room Gill was told to wait outside to give the professionals room to work. Her hand pressed against the door as if she could touch the girl on the other side. She felt completely helpless; there was nothing she could for the Lily at that precise moment; but falling apart was not going to help. She decided to take a moment to ring Janet to ask her to start pulling the case papers together, so that she could stay at the hospital and the next morning Janet could brief the team first thing in the morning and start investigating.

As machines began to sound Gill dropped her arm back down to her side, still holding her phone. Janet kept calling Gill's name, but there was no response. Doctors ran to the girl's side, pushing Gill out of the way. She stared at Lily, her heart beginning to break a little more with each second that went by. Why was she feeling like this? What was it she was feeling? It was strange; a cold, aching sensation through her chest and her ribs. Could it be her cold exterior beginning to melt? The 'Godzilla bitch of a chief inspector' that Rachel had once described her as was only a front, but it was fading, leaving a sensitive, emotional, frightened woman in her place. This frightened her even more. Gill had only known the girl no longer than half an hour and already she couldn't stand the thought of losing her.

Gill's world of thoughts that she began to drown in were interrupted when a doctor left the room and walked towards her.

"DCI Murray?" he asked.

"Yes, how is she?" Gill asked impatiently, formalities just wasting precious time.

"She's stable for now; she's lost a lot of blood we think she may be haemorrhaging internally, she will need surgery as soon as a slot becomes available" The doctor was calm and reassuring, but Gill wasn't buying it.

"Can I see her?" she asked, deciding not to argue and waste further time.

"Of course"

Gill pushed the door in front of her and rushed to the girl's side. She looked pale and old. Gill smiled lovingly at Lily who only opened her fingers enough for Gill's hand to slide in and take hold of the girl's cold weak hand. Lily's limp arm reached up to her face to pull the oxygen mask from her mouth to be able to talk to Gill.

"Gill"

"Don't try and talk kid, you just rest"

"But there's" Gill cut her off before she could finish.

"It's ok now Lily, you're safe" Gill smiled again. "Where are your parents love, they really should be here?"

"My mum's dead, she died a year ago" Lily began tearfully.

"I'm sorry" Gill's eyes filled up effortlessly. "What about your dad?"

"I've never met my dad, and I don't want to either"

"Alright, so who do you live with, who looks after you?" Gill grew even more concerned.

"No one" she replied shyly.

Gill breathed a painful sigh wondering how her heart could possibly break when it wasn't even whole to start with.

"It will be okay now, you don't have to do this on your own anymore, I promise" Gill let a tear escape and instantly got annoyed with herself for showing such emotion to a virtual stranger.

"I love you Gill"

"You don't even know me" she replied unsure of what to say now as this wasn't a usual occurrence, but she was flattered by the comment all the same.

"I know you enough to know that I love you"

"I don't do this, the whole emotional, lovey-dovey stuff" Gill confessed "But I love you too kid"

At that moment, as Gill's hand stroked the hair away from Lily's face the machines once again sounded. Her eyes didn't move, her breathing stopped and she did not answer when Gill shouted her name.

"LILY" Gill screamed. "HELP" she shouted to the doctors. The whole 'crash team' came running into the room. Gill thought it was a stupid name 'crash team' and repeated it again and again in her head, each time it sounding even more daft. 'Crash team, crash team, crash' her mind lingered on the word 'crash' Doctors kneeling on the edge of the bed pushed Lily's chest with interlocked fingers. One tried to put a tube down her throat, with little success and the nurse syringed something into a line in the back of the girl's hand.

The room once again rushed around Gill. It felt as though she was in one of those movies where people look like they have been speeded up in a whirlwind, whilst the main character was in slow motion. Time dragged for Gill, each moment growing harder and harder for her to deal with. In actual fact, half an hour passed.

"Are we all agreed?" one doctor addressed his team. Each one nodded in turn. "Time of death, 02.02"


	3. Chapter 3

After the machines were switched off and tubes removed, Gill was allowed back into the room to say good bye to Lily. She bit back her tears with every ounce of strength that remained. Her steps were small and slow as she tried to fathom what had happened in the past few hours. She looked at the girl, barely recognising her now; this confused Gill even more as she never even knew her to begin with, how could she not recognise someone she didn't even know? But then nothing was making much sense anymore. The minute she let her guard down, everything became unfamiliar and scary. This was definitely new territory.

Gill reached the bed and took a deep breath in to calm herself. Her hand nervously stretched out to rest on Lily's. "I'm sorry" she whispered to the girl, knowing that she could not hear her. With her free hand she stroked the girl's face and leant forward to place a kiss on Lily's forehead. "You tell anyone that I cried or showed any emotion, and I will kill you, and get away with it because I know how". Her hand slid off of Lily's and Gill began to make for the door. Her mother had once said to her _'Don't look back' _and Gill repeated this over and over again until she was back in the safety of the hospital corridor.

She didn't stop walking or reminding herself of her mother's famous words until she reached her front door. Gill had no idea how she got home, or even what the time was. As she turned the key in the lock she remembered that Sammy was staying at Orla's for the night and she would be home alone. Once inside her house, Gill let herself break down. She made it to the settee in the front room and cried her eyes out. She had wanted to do this for hours, she needed to, but there was no way she was going to do that there, then, in front of complete strangers. Closing her eyes, Gill kept seeing the girl lying on the pavement. She opened her eyes and Lily was lying on the hospital bed. There was no escaping it. She knew from that moment that this would haunt her for the rest of her life.

Gill looked desperately around her living room for a distraction, but the photo of her and Dave made her cry harder. Then the photo next to it of her son, Sammy gave her hope. She snatched the phone from her pocket and scrolled through her contacts list to find his number. She pressed dial and held the phone to her ear.

"Hiya kid, its mum" she tried to speak clearly, coughing slightly to free her voice from the weary tone her tears had caused.

"Mum?" Sammy replied, more of a question than a statement. "Is everything okay? It's nearly 4.00am!"

"I just want you to know that I love you and I'm never going to leave you alright?"

"Mum, have you been drinking?" Sammy asked, having never known Gill to be so affectionate, and certainly not at ridiculous o'clock in the morning.

"No love, I haven't, I just need you to know how much I love you" she repeated.

"I love you too mum" Sammy replied, genuinely, but still a little concerned. With that Gill put the phone down before she started crying again.

Moments later it was as though Gill was a different person. Her tears had dried and she was back to her usual calm, in control state. She had decided that the only thing she could do for Lily now was to nail the person who had done this to her, to the wall, by their fucking testicles!


	4. Chapter 4

Gill was in early as usual, before the rest of the team. She wasn't able to sleep after the events of the night before, waking every half an hour having nightmares and seeing Lily's body. Therefore Gill thought it was best to get up and keep busy. Janet had pulled the papers together and handed them to Gill, arriving only minutes after her. By the time the boys had entered the office, Gill had already written up all the notes on the whiteboard. There was still no sign of Rachel, but punctuality wasn't her strong point. Gill didn't dwell on it too long and called the present members of her team into the briefing room.

"Good morning" she greeted. "Last night, just outside the station, a nineteen year old girl was hit by a speeding motorbike that came off of the road and went straight for her." she told them, holding up a photograph of Lily.

"So" Kevin piped up, stopping Gill from giving the team all the information. "The driver could have just lost control"

"Yes Kevin, he may have done" Gill replied.

"Why are we investigating it then?" he asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"The fact that the driver was speeding is an offence in itself, and he ran from the scene of the crime, suggesting that he is guilty of something, because otherwise why didn't he stop to see if the girl was alright?"

Kevin butted in again "He probably just panicked"

Gill chose to ignore and continue "I called an ambulance just gone 10.30 last night; got her to hospital, but she died anyway at 2.00 this morning.

"Do we know who she is?" Mitch asked, taking notes and barely looking up.

"Her name is Lily Campbell. She was living alone in a flat in Oldham; her mother died a year ago and she had never met her father. I don't as yet know anything else about this girl, so can we find out if she was at college, or university? Identify some of her friends? Ideally we are looking to build up a picture of Lily's life. Who were her friends, who were her enemies, did anyone have a grudge against her, and did she owe any money?" Gill scanned the table, looking for someone to appoint to take on this task. "Lee, can you get onto that". Lee nodded in agreement.

"When's the post-mortem?" Janet asked.

"Sometime this afternoon" Gill replied.

"I need CCTV from outside the station and the surrounding areas please, Pete" Gill commanded, looking around the table again. "We are looking for someone running from the scene, possibly injured, I can't imagine how he would have got away uninjured, wearing a motorbike helmet and leather motorbike clothing"

At that moment Rachel came bursting through the door. Gill glared at her in frustration; she knew that Rachel was brilliant, but at the same time, she needed to shape up if she wanted to ever be in charge of her own syndicate. Rachel mouthed _'sorry'_ and took a seat next to Lee. Gill decided not to bollock Rachel; she did not have the energy and could not be asked with her excuses.

"Okay, thanks" Gill said while gathering her papers and phone before heading out of the briefing room and back towards her office.

"What's up with Godzilla?" Kevin sneered, noticing Gill's unusual mood.

"She was there, last night, she saw the whole thing. She saw that motorbike come off the pavement, she held the girl's hand, and she watched her die" Janet replied sternly. Kevin couldn't reply, feeling guilty now that he had mocked Gill. Janet walked back into the office, deciding to go with Gill to the post-mortem, leaving Kevin looking on.


	5. Chapter 5

Later that day the team re-assembled in the briefing room to share the information they had collected with each other, to begin piecing the case together.

"Ok, Janet what did we get from the house to house" Gill kicked off.

"When her mother was murdered a year ago, Lily moved to Oldham and barely left her flat. People have knocked on the door but she doesn't answer and neither does she pick up the phone when they have tried calling her"

"Murdered?" Gill repeated in a questioning tone.

"Yes Lily lived with her mother in a large detached house in Didsbury. Just over a year ago, when Lily was at school, a man was seen walking away from the house minutes before the house went up in flames. The remains of a firework were found in the hallway when the house was searched. Lily moved to Oldham not long after" Janet informed.

"I remember that case!" Rachel looked pleased with herself.

"The man was an ex of the mother; Serena. He got sent down but then a witness came forward and got him off. He was released a month since" Mitch chipped in.

"Ok" Gill smiled, feeling she was getting somewhere. "CCTV?"

"A man in leathers, carrying a motorbike helmet was seen two streets away at 11.00 last night" Pete replied holding up the enhanced image. "I got hold of the CCTV from the Didsbury case" Pete held up another image.

"It's the same man!" Gill gasped, pleased they were a step closer to finding who had done this, but at the same time a devastating reality was becoming apparent. "Who is he?"

"Jim Campbell" Lee confirmed.

"Not..." Gill couldn't finish.

"Yes, Lily's father"

"Have we got an address?" Gill asked.

"31 Albert Street, Ashfield"

"How did you get on Lee?" Gill asked.

"She was a drama student at the University of Manchester but after her mother died she dropped out. She was a popular girl with staff and students alike, but after she left she lost contact with everyone" Kevin replied. "She wasn't in any trouble, no one knew of any enemies she may have had"

"Is your name Lee?" Gill mocked.

"But her name does appear on our database" Lee answered this time.

"Oh" Gill pricked her ears up, hoping that she hadn't been in any trouble, she didn't want the mental image she had of this girl to be ruined.

"She was the only witness identifying Jim Campbell in the investigation into her mother's death"

"That's a motive right there"

"Right, let's pick him up for, well suspicion of murder. Thanks"

Each member of the team stood from the table and made their way towards the door to get their coats and go and arrest their suspect.


	6. Chapter 6

The troops entered the station in force after arresting Jim Campbell on suspicion of murder and took him straight into custody.

"This is Jim Campbell" Janet began to book him in. "Arrested at his home at 7.20 this morning on suspicion of the murder of Lily Campbell. The arresting officer is Detective Constable Janet Scott" The man was put into a blue jumper and joggers so his clothes could be given to forensics and his watch, belt, keys, mobile and wallet were taken off of him and bagged up. Gill stood at the custody desk and looked the man up and down as if she were about to kill him with her cold stare. He was taken into a cell and the team dispersed.

"Janet, can you do this one?" Gill asked as the old friends walked side by side back to the office.

"Sure" she agreed before settling down at her desk opposite Rachel to do her interview prep.

_X_

Janet sat down opposite Jim Campbell and Mitch took a seat at the table.

"Okay, Mr Campbell, you understand your rights, yes?" she asked. He only nodded. "For the tape please, Mr Campbell"

"Yes" he replied monosyllabically.

"Do you know a Lily Campbell?" Janet asked.

"No comment"

"Do you know a Serena Campbell?"

"No comment"

"Do you own a motorbike?"

"No comment"

"Have you ever ridden a motorbike?"

"No comment"

"Where where you last night between 10pm and midnight Mr Campbell?"

"No comment"

"What have you done to your leg? I noticed you were limping"

"No comment"

"I am showing the suspect exhibit PT3" Janet slid the piece of paper of the CCTV still image across the table toward the man. "Is that you Mr Campbell"

"No comment"

"What about this one? Is this you?" Janet asked as she slid another piece of paper across.

"No comment"

"We know you were in prison for manslaughter Mr Campbell"

"I didn't do it"

"CCTV puts you outside the front door of Serena Campbell's house minutes before it went up in flames"

"I didn't do it. They let me out"

"There was a witness that identified you as the man at the door of Serena's house minutes before she was killed"

"Mad bitch lied"

Janet's brain began working overtime as Jim got angry.

"And that made you angry did it Mr Campbell?"

"She wasted a whole year of my life, the lying bitch"

"So you wanted to teach her a lesson?"

"She had it coming to her?"

"Had what coming to her?" Janet asked, already knowing what he meant.

"No comment"

"She gave evidence against you and you were found guilty, and so when you got out of prison you thought you would get her back by running her over with a motorbike?"

"Is this her? Is she saying I ran her over?"

"No Mr Campbell, not Lily. Lily died in the early hours of yesterday morning"

"We have you on CCTV, forensics are checking your clothes for blood and DNA as well as the bike that hit Lily. Will your prints be on that bike Mr Campbell?"

"No comment"

"Right, interview suspended at 11.17" Janet finally decided to call it as she knew she was getting nowhere.

Outside the door to the interview room, Gill was waiting. "How's it going?"

"Repetitive, monotonous, tedious, shall I go on?" Janet replied sarcastically. "It was him, I know it was, but I can't prove it" she became frustrated.

"Forensics found Jim Campbell's blood on the bike; the bike that hit Lily is registered in the name of James Campbell" Gill informed.

"It was him" Janet smiled, relieved she could charge him, confession or not.

"Go and tell him the good news!"

_X_

"Mr Campbell" Janet began as she re-entered the room. "Your blood was found on the bike that hit Lily Campbell two nights ago. That same bike is registered in your name. We have CCTV of you a few hundred yards away from the scene just after the bike hit the girl. Is there anything you want to tell me?"

"It was me...I did it...I hit her...And I'd do it again...She ruined my life..."

"So you decided to ruin hers? You decided to kill your own daughter Mr Campbell, because she had done the right thing legally, she had done the right thing by her dead mother?"

"She's no daughter of mine"

"Mr Campbell, I am charging you with the murder of Lily Campbell, you do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not question something which you later rely on in court. Do you understand? Take him away"


	7. Chapter 7

_**THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR AMAZING, AMAZING, AMAZING REVIEWS; MAKES ME SO HAPPY! BUT HERE LIES THE END (THE LAST 5 MINUTES OF A SCOTT AND BAILEY EPISODE AS WAS)**_

A monotonous murmur spread through the briefing room as the Major Incident Team waited for their boss to de-brief them. Gill entered the room with her mobile in one hand and glasses in the other and silence fell. She pushed her glasses up her nose and checked her phone with the push of a button. The team looked up at her like school children sitting to attention when the head teacher entered the room.

"Right" she began "We have the CCTV footage that puts Jim Campbell outside the house of Serena Campbell moments before it burnt down a year ago. The same man is on CCTV round the corner from here half an hour after the bike hit Lily. We know the bike was registered to a Mr James Campbell who resides in Oldham. We also have a confession from Jim. I am therefore charging the little bastard with the murder of Lily Campbell"

The team breathed a sigh of relief and Gill removed the glasses from her face. She let them disperse and made her way back to her office to get her bag and coat. Watching that pathetic excuse for a human being casually admit to murder turned Gill's stomach; it was possibly one of the hardest things she had ever had to do. But tomorrow was going to be harder; Lily's funeral.

_X_

"You alright boss?" Janet asked standing on the pathway of the cemetery at Gill's side as Lily's coffin was carried to the open grave. Gill only nodded as not to let her tears escape. It was a good turnout all in all; many of Lily's neighbours from Oldham and friends and teachers from Didsbury had turned up to pay their respects. One of Lily's friends had turned up after Lee and Mitch had informed her of Lily's passing. The two girls had been more like sisters since primary school and her friend Louise had been devastated when Lily moved to Oldham and lost touch. She began to read a poem as the coffin was lowered into the ground,

_You were sent from heaven to earth,_

_An angel right from your birth,_

_To show the living what it meant,_

_Not to be given but only leant,_

_To carry out God's will down here,_

_All with strength and no fear._

_But when your work down here was done,_

_You were called back to the son,_

_To guide us in each day we live,_

_And help each one of us to give,_

_Thanks to God for giving us you,_

_And guiding us each day too._

_But now you've gone and left us,_

_We shed a tear without a fuss._

_We miss you as each day goes by,_

_And with your help we do try,_

_To carry on with our lives;_

_Memories still as sharp as knives._

_We will always love you dearly,_

_In our thoughts we will not merely,_

_Cast your time with us aside,_

_And to your work we will abide._

_Here I confess I will not lie,_

_With every second that goes by,_

_Each piece of heart we have left,_

_Shatters in longing to have you back._

_You will always be our angel._

Louise began to sob as she fell to her knees. Janet rubbed Gill's arm, not wanting to be overly affectionate as Gill did not like letting her guard down, but at the same time, needed her friend to know she was there for her. As the crowd began to disperse Janet spoke,

"Pub?"


End file.
